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Pulse of the Saudi Blogosphere

Ahmed Al-Omran · 13:02 · Middle East & North Africa

Like the rest of the world, the infamous Danish cartoons was one of the main topics discussed in the Saudi blogosphere during the past two weeks. Abu-Joori believes that boycotting Danish products was a very civil choice, even though he understands that neither the Danish government nor the Danish people are responsible for what the newspaper published. “So why do we try to harm them?!” he asked. He goes on:

When we expect others to respect us .. our highly respected figures.. we shall do the same .. we shall respect them and respect the things that are important to them!… Actually, even if they do not show respect to us or to our religion .. we shall do what we think is right .. and not be in the reaction mode ALL the time!!!

He was, of course, talking about the violent assaults against foreign embassies in Syria and Lebanon. However, Mo5 o 7ekma says such attacks were expected, and thinks that those who attacked the embassies should not be arrested and punished (Arabic) because they are “just some angry youth.” The boycotting has affected some of the nutrition habits for Saudis who used to depend on Danish products for a very long time. “All I can say is thank god Dunkin Donuts isn’t Danish!!” Feras said. Mohammed Al-Shwaier posted this drawing with the title “What kind of destruction have you chosen for yourself, Denmark?”
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Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome

Salam Adil · 12:45 · Middle East & North Africa

Love is in the air this week and even hardened Iraqi bloggers go mushy at the knees on Valentines day. The cartoon controversy has been brewing with more thoughtful comments and Iraq has been dealing with its own controversy - the demon of abuses by British and American troops has been rearing its ugly head again. There are comments on Saddam's Trial and in ‘word from the streets' we will hear about how Ashura passed, the arms market and air-strikes over Baghdad. Now on with the show and…

If you read nothing else today read Riverbend's first hand account of how the Iraqi security forces raided her neighborhood.

One of them stood with the Klashnikov pointed at us, and the other one began opening cabinets and checking behind doors. We were silent. The only sounds came from my aunt, who was praying in a tremulous whisper and little B., who was sucking away at his thumb, eyes wide with fear.

Hala S. guest-blogs on Asterism. “My aim is to write something constructive has a meaning and could lead somewhere.” She gives a personal recollection during Saddam's Iraq:

[the head mistress] looked me in the eyes and asked: who are you? What is your father name? Do you realise what you have done? Today you are conspiring against your tutor, tomorrow you will do the same against the government! I will pass it this time, one more move of a kind, and you will find yourself and your family and everyone you associate with in the hands of the intelligence police.

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Durbur: Zaria, Nigeria.

Sokari Ekine · 07:08 · Sub-Saharan Africa

The Durbar festival takes place in Northern Nigeria and is a spectacular parade of horsemen. The men gather to pay homage to the Emir during celebrations of Sallah and on special occasions. During the Durbar the horsemen parade and charge wielding swords and guns in memory of ancient times when the Emirs were all powerful.

Zaria Durbur: photos by Jeremy Weate - Naijablog

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From the Nigerian and Liberian Blogosphere

Imnakoya · 03:43 · Sub-Saharan Africa

Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti, one of Nigeria's foremost political and social activist died this week at age 65. Beko was a younger brother to the late afrobeat musician Fela Kuti and was at the fore-front of the civil putsch against the military juntas of Generals Babaginda and Abacha. Black Looks, Ijebu Man's diary Chippla Weblog and Grandiose Parlor are some Nigerian blogs that mourn the passing of Dr Beko Kuti.

Jeremy the “English Yoruba Hybrid” at Naijablog muses about Nigeria and the likelihood of staying longer there. He states:

“The opportunities combined with the speed the society is transforming make Ng [Nigeria] an irresistible place to be right now. Give it a couple of years and the country will not be recognisable for people who have been away for a while…Its far more interesting to live in places where the rate of social and economic transformation is much higher. Everyone talks about BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China). If things fall into place in Nigeria, there should soon be talk of BRINCs. To Nigerians thinking of moving back: this is the time to make your move.”

Mutiu blogs about his experience while in northern Nigeria, He is concerned about some of the children attending Islamic schools in northern Nigeria, who seem abandoned and roam about the street fending for themselves. He writes:

“During the fasting period, these children run like a marathoner to one of the Nigerian former Ambassadors to Morocco in order to get what they will use to break the fast. I look at the whole situation, and see that the Nigerian children do not deserve what they are going through. This situation is not only happening in the northern states alone but through out the federation. Children roam the streets without any hope of getting any food to eat or clothes to wear. ”

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The Somali blogosphere

Chippla Vandu · 03:40 · Sub-Saharan Africa

Since 1991, Somalia has been without a central government. While the southern part of the country has largely remained lawless, the northern Somaliland region, which declared itself independent, has been relatively peaceful. To the wider world, Somaliland is a part of Somalia. But some Somaliland bloggers take pride in bringing out the distinctive characteristics of Somaliland and its relative peace when compared with the rest of Somalia.

The Voice of Somaliland Diaspora-Ottawa, a blog authored by Ahmed Quick, presents series of regularly updated posts that center on Somaliland. It quotes a report by a South African newspaper that tells of moves by the African Union that may eventually lead to the recognition of Somaliland as a nation independent of Somalia:

“Hopes of recognition for Somaliland’s 15-year independence have been raised by the favourable report of an African Union mission that visited the territory last year. The report… comes at a time when signs of a new flexibility in African thinking on boundary issues are emerging. It suggests that official African aid be tapped by this country of 3.5million people that was effectively destroyed by the [late] Somali dictator Siad Barre. With the fall of Barre in 1991, the former British colony [Somaliland] broke its union with southern neighbour, the former Italian colony of Somalia. Since Barre’s departure, Somalia has been without an effective government.”

The Voice of Somaliland Diaspora-Ottawa also tells of Somaliland offering land to Ethiopian businesspeople for “building warehouses” in Berbera port. It states that Ethiopia, which is a landlocked country, “started importing goods through Berbera Port, 910 km east of Addis Ababa [the Ethiopian capital]” in November 2005. The aim of the Somaliland government is the development of a free trade zone in the Berbera port, and Ethiopians are being welcomed to be a part of this development.

The blog Food Crisis in Somalia, authored by Mukhtar “Bill” Ainashe, is aimed at serving as an information portal on the food problems currently being faced in Somalia. It tells of efforts it has made to bring the plight of starving Somalis to the United Nations, Arab and Western governments, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC) as well as other NGOs.

You can get to learn more about the food shortages in Somalia as well as efforts being made to alleviate them from this blog. Food Crisis in Somalia applauds the recent appointment of Mr. Magne Bondevik as the United Nations special envoy to Somalia, believing he would aid in dealing with the food problem. It also applauds a 5 million Euro fund made available by the European Union to aid drought victims in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, calling on Arab governments and the United States to show the same gesture. Get to see some beautiful Somali stamps of the days when Somalia dreamnt of being self sufficient in food production.

Work4Change, a blog by a Canadian intern in Somalia, presents life Somalia upfront. It tells of the love Somalis have for football:

“People love soccer here; every empty land is full with teams on Fridays.”

Work4Change provides a wealth of information about life in Somalia with lots of photographs. On driving in Somalia it offers the following anecdote:

“Much of Somalia does not have traffic lights. The only cities that do are Mogadishu and Hargeysa (the two capitals). The rest of Somali is without any traffic lights. Yet, people continue to drive in every city. How can this be?? Well people here are resourceful. They don’t need traffic light to tell them how to drive. They have developed their own system of driving and of communicating with other drivers.”

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